Moving Forward & Growing Up!

WEEKEND SESSION (01/30/16): All three horses got saddle time today. The arena was busy and we did a bit of horsey PR as always when the public wants to “pet the horses”. Had to gently advise a fellow that is energetic dog was offering aggressive postures and if Nike (or our other two) decided to believe the dog, the owner would be minus a dog and it would be on him so please be aware of this. Nike was in a pen attached to the area. Sigh. People. If we have to hear about “that one time you rode” one more time we may scream.

Nike did really well both as the poster child for BLM mustangs and in her session with her groundwork and under saddle lessons. We have introduced all of the Fundamentals level groundwork. On most exercises she is at a B. Some of them are at a C but getting better. Some, like lateral flexion and backing (all types) is an A. Can’t complain. We started to introduce some Intermediate ground work and working with the plastic bag on a stick. So far, so good! Under saddle we worked on the Cruising lesson, Follow the Fence, One Rein stops (she had GREAT breaks), Bending at the Walk and Bending Transition and Forward-Back-Forward on the impulsion side of things. We also worked on Lateral/Vertical Flexion with the Bridle, Yield the HQ at the Standstill and Yield the HQ along the Fence for suppling. We were really pleased with her willingness and confidence to transition (walk-trot-lope) and her ability to trot and lope longer with more control of her own body. We may be working on this for a while as she is young and needs to build her muscles up. She is GROWING too. There is some nice roundness to her hind end and some nice tone in her shoulders. We believe that she is always going to be a “lean” horse but think she’ll top out a 15hh. We are upping her feed to three meals a day for the next month to see if that helps fill her out. Her workout program will be three consecutive days a week for the next month (excluding the weekend of the Clinton Anderson clinic) as we noted that four-in-a-row was a little taxing for her right now.

It is all about finding the balance needed to help her reach her potential and keeping experiences positive. We have a Downunder Brumbies practice coming up. Looking forward to the session. More exposure to new places is SO good for her brain.

INTERLUDE (01/31/16): Life is never dull! We got a call earlier in the week to see if we could help someone who is trying to form a horse rescue operation. The person has purchased some nice property locally but the fences and stalls are not completed yet. Our part in this inspirational endeavor is to house six horses, ranging in age from 1 to 14 years old. These horses came from a feed lot in Washington. All are underweight but in overall decent health. We’ll be getting some real weight on them and doing some basic handling to remind them of good ground manners.

The get to live as a herd on our 3 acre pasture which has shelter, trees, terrain/hills, a seasonal brook (which is REALLY flowing right now) and some mentally stimulating surroundings. Day 2 found them all MUCH calmer and happy. I sat with them after breakfast and got to rub on the more curious ones. They will be here for 2-3 months or when the recue facility is complete.

It is all about helping others and paying the good karma energy forward. There is one gelding I really like Must resist!